Psoriasis anyone?

[flume]

I’ve been struggling with psoriasis since my early teenage years. When I went to the doctor back then she told me that I had to apply corticosteroid-containing treatment if I wanted to keep it under control. I kindly refused.

I’m quite lucky since it really only affects (effects? Help me out, native speakers!) a thin line on my scalp. I’m keeping it somewhat under control since my diet is pretty healthy and I lead a rather simple, stress-free life. I go through weeks and months where I forget I even have it. 

But there are ups and downs. It’s hard for me to really pinpoint what is triggering it. Sugar definitely does. Stress and cold weather probably do too. But so often all of these things go together…

For reference: I eat a mostly plant based, whole foods diet. But there’s still some sugar and gluten. I've never used any treatment and as I’ve said, it’s actually quite manageable.

To be honest, I get a bit overwhelmed researching this topic. So many different approaches seem to have worked for different people. Some even argue it’s purely psychosomatic.

Has anyone maybe experimented with natural treatments?
Any particular foods to stay away from?

Any recommendations/ thoughts/ experiences are greatly appreciated.

Much itchy love from me to you!

[Michael569]

14 hours ago, flume said:

affects (effects?

I think its "affects"

I'd say you are already doing a lot of good stuff to prevent it getting worse. The wholefood diet will be very helpful along with stress management. 

Initial consideration: if you haven't already, set up an account on cronometer and track your nutrient intake for a couple days. Give it a week and see if you are consistently not low in anything. 

1. Stress will be one of the biggest contributors so definitely keep that in check

2. Gluten could be making it worse, try to eliminate it for 4 weeks and see if it gets any better. 

3. Track your Vitamin A and Zinc intake on Cronometer and see if you are getting enough. They are both implicated in skin cell turnover. For vitamin A when looking it up it is important to assess your "retinol" or RAE (retinol activity equivalent) not beta-carotene. Cronometer has the option to see RAE in settings. If you struggle with zinc, you may consider getting up to 50mg/day zinc citrate for 2 weeks and see if that helps, take it before you go to sleep. I wouldn't supplement vitamin A. 

4. You could consider getting your vitamin D checked as well. There is never any harm in getting more sunshine exposure. Same as Vitamin A and Zinc, vitamin D has a role in skin cell turnover. 

5. Omega 3 intake is important for skin health and for controlling inflammation. If you only eat flaxseeds it will not be enough to turn it to EPA and DHA. Algae Oil could help with that if that's the case. Or megadosing on chia and flax. An oily fish (salmon, mackerel anchovies) would do that for you as well but I know you said mostly plant based so perhaps that's not an option. 

6. Selenium is a cofactor of glutathione peroxidase, an antioxidant enzyme that is often deficient in psoriasis. 2 brazil nuts per day will get you covered if you are low in it. 

7. You could get more sun exposure, especially on the affected body parts. This is a bit of bro-science but among other things, it could help. 

8. Goldenseal and Milk thistle can be helpful. 

9. load a lot of anti-inflammatories into your diet: lots and lots of fruits and vegetables. The more colours the better. Also, implement a lot of green herbs and spices in your dishes. Use less oil and cook more on the water to minimise the production of acrylamides and similar compounds. 

10. I'd be careful with eating out. They often use a lot of cheap oils and trans fats. Batch cooking at home is always the way to go. Saves money and is healthier. 

11. Don't go too crazy with protein and protein powders. 1g/day is perfectly enough. 

And finally, exercise and saunas to promote lymphatic circulation and liver detoxification. More focus on cardio training to stimulate a lot of sweating. 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Michael569

[flume]

@Michael569 Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to reply. I truly appreciate it!

I can't quite go back to cronometer yet as I'm trying to get over some obsessive eating patterns but I think from what I remember my nutrient intake should be fine. I take B12 and Vitamin D supplements and I have my blood drawn once a year.

I'll check out some sources of zinc! And I should get myself some brazil nuts for sure. Thanks for the tip!

On 04/01/2020 at 11:55 AM, Michael569 said:

Use less oil and cook more on the water to minimise the production of acrylamides and similar compounds. 

Is this only the case for oil or should I stay from too much fat in general? I kind of eat a lot of fat like nuts and seeds, avocados, olives, coconut, etc.

On 04/01/2020 at 11:55 AM, Michael569 said:

An oily fish (salmon, mackerel anchovies) would do that for you as well but I know you said mostly plant based so perhaps that's not an option. 

Hm, I actually thought about maybe trying fish again since it seems beneficial for so many things. It would feel weird after a decade of not eating it but my brother actually fishes right out the river we live by, so it would be somewhat bearable from an ethical and ecological point of view.

Since you're so knowledgeable, do you have any book recommendations for me? I really got into nutrition 5 years ago, I read a lot about vegan diets (How Not To Die by Michael Greger for example) and just lived by what I've learned back then ever since. But I feel like it might be time for some new perspectives. Someone I know recommended "One Spirit Medicine" to me by Alberto Villoldo. He says fish i majorly important and advices to stay away from too many carbs. He then ties the book up in a somewhat holistic way by explaining how we can only align with our true nature if we nurture the body in the right way.
Phew, I feel like nutrition is really one of the most controversial topics there are. Sometimes I really don't know where to begin, what to believe and what would even be worth trying out... 

[Michael569]

14 hours ago, flume said:

Is this only the case for oil or should I stay from too much fat in general? I kind of eat a lot of fat like nuts and seeds, avocados, olives, coconut, etc.

I'd be looking more at the oxidised rancid sources from frying and  those used in take-aways, chinese restaurants etc...e.g. the cheap oils. High quality fats like the ones you mentioned are fine although there is no need to go crazy with coconut oil

14 hours ago, flume said:

Hm, I actually thought about maybe trying fish again since it seems beneficial for so many things. It would feel weird after a decade of not eating it but my brother actually fishes right out the river we live by, so it would be somewhat bearable from an ethical and ecological point of view.

You could be missing the long-chain fatty acids as flaxseeds are not readily converted and most people on plant based diets do not take algae oil. I agree it is an extremely controversial topic. How not to Diet is a brilliant book but is one-sided and does not talk about general nutrition and larger therapeutics, it is however extremely useful for people suffering from heart disease or cancer to take their life back. 

Depends on what you want to know, I've always recommended to people to just grab a standard nutrition textbook if you want to learn the basics and start browsing that. Nothing biased, no special diet, just general nutritional knowledge on macros, micros etc...

Edited January 10, 2020 by Michael569

[flume]

On 10/01/2020 at 10:42 AM, Michael569 said:

I've always recommended to people to just grab a standard nutrition textbook if you want to learn the basics and start browsing that. Nothing biased, no special diet, just general nutritional knowledge on macros, micros etc...

That's good but might be a bit dry for me to get through. Anyway, if anything particularly related to Psoriasis or auto immune issues come to mind, let me know. Or anyone else reading this :-) Thanks again!